The cost of eating like an Olympian

Diet tips from Team GB 2016

What better time to reassess your life goals than a few days before the Olympics begin? Every four years the world becomes captivated by the games, and whichever corner of the globe you’re from, it’s always a staunch reminder that perhaps you could be doing a little more to stay fit and healthy.

Voucherbox published a recent study that reveals the amount of time and money it will take to become an Olympic athlete in four years. With the most expensive sport (Equestrian) costing a whopping £468,000 to train for four years, we thought we’d look into how much it would cost to eat like an Olympian too. Their diet is slightly more affordable than their training regime, and it’s an accessible way of changing your life for the better.

We looked into the diet of several sports stars competing in this year’s Olympic Games in Rio and shared their wisdom on how you can eat just like a pro…

Breakfast

The most important meal of the day for an athlete, Olympic trainers warn against missing breakfast and embarking on exercise on an empty stomach. Jade Jones, Taekwondo pro and Team GB competitor at Rio 2016 says “I like to have six different fruits with yogurt for breakfast all mixed up, so that is giving me all of my five a day already and I’ve only had breakfast.”

Breakfast is vital to Olympic athletes to ensure their body gets the right nutrients to prepare for hard training sessions. Jade Jones also swears by nutrient bars to help give her energy throughout the day. Here’s the cost per week of eating breakfast like an Olympian:

It’s clear from our research that each sportsperson has similar daily routines and schedules. They get up, have a nutritious breakfast and then tend to train for 3 or more hours.

As a result, lunch is a vital time to help re-building muscles and making sure your body is packed full of nutrients to keep the athletes fueled for the rest of the day.

Many Olympians recommend storing up on carbs and protein for lunch. Protein helps repair muscle damage and the right kind of carbs, such as whole meal rice or new potatoes, will ensure you have energy for the rest of the day.

Liam Phillips, Team GB 2016 BMX qualifier “When we go away to a race now we take a rice cooker with us to cook rice and quinoa. Then we have chicken and things that we can eat at the track that we actually have control of so that we are making sure that our body is fuelled efficiently.”

After a long day of training, the final meal of the day needs to be more protein-based than carb-based in order to rebuild the body and slowly release energy as the day comes to a close. Dinner is often lighter than lunch as the athlete won’t be burning so many calories after the meal.

Olympic gymnast Daniel Purvis says “The meals that I will rely on in the run-up to Rio are the ones that I have taken before. Everything is high protein, high carb and energy sufficient.”

Meals that consist of meat and vegetables are popular among Olympic athletes. Purvis says he often will have meat, whether it’s beef, chicken or gammon, with potatoes and veg for dinner.

If you want to eat like an Olympian athlete every day, our research shows it’ll cost you £74.28 per month. Not too bad considering the health benefits; stick to this for 3 months and you’ll be fitter, faster and healthier.

Eat like an Olympian with Campbells

If all this protein is looking too expensive for you, our pals at Campbells are offering an exclusive offer on their Olympic Special Packs online.

The Gold Steak Pack is usually £59.46, but enter Voucher Code AWINGOLD29 for 50% off to reduce the price to £29. The code includes free UK Mainland delivery too.

The pack includes various cuts and weights of pork and beef steaks as well as a huge range of mince, burgers and sausages. That’ll see you through the Olympic Games this year! Or if you’ve got a few more mouths to feed, Campbells are also offering 50% off their Team GB Pack online, just enter voucher code AWINTEAMGB.

The pack is reduced from £98.57 to an air-punchingly reasonable £49 with free UK Mainland delivery. The Gold Steak pack will get your protein levels through the roof – it includes more meat than you can steak a shick at, including 12 steaks of various cuts and weight, pork loin, chicken, turkey and salmon fillets and burgers and sausages too. Please note that images are of Campbell’s products but are used for illustration only and will be different from actual product.

Don’t be a couch potato while you watch the Olympics. Get in to shape with this meal plan and you’ll be a medal-winner in everyone’s eyes!

Alice's passion for writing, rhyming and puns made itself known at the tender age of 7, when she wrote mildly insulting limericks about each of her family members while they watched the rugby.
Now, with a penchant for public relations and an eye for a good deal, Alice spends her time researching and blogging for Voucherbox.co.uk. When that's not happening she's unapologetically beating everyone in the office at table football.

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